Euractiv.com

In this special year-end episode, our Beyond the Byline podcast, together with Euractiv’s Alexandra Brzozowski, Benjamin Fox and Julia Tar, takes a closer look at the key topics that shaped our coverage throughout the past 12 months.

As the negotiations on the EU–US Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium (GSA) falter, the EU should steel itself ahead of the 2024 US elections, write Brandon Bohrn and Etienne Höra.

Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova put her name forward on Wednesday (20 December) to stand in a Russian presidential election in March that Vladimir Putin is expected to win by a landslide.

Serbia announced Wednesday (20 December) that it will re-run its recent election in certain areas, according to state media, just days after nationwide voting triggered protests and international condemnation over alleged fraud.

COP28 marked a historic global shift from fossil fuels with a groundbreaking agreement, showcasing collaborative leadership between the UAE and the EU for accelerated climate action.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Macron defending France’s new immigration law, Tusk taking the state broadcaster off the air in an effort to depoliticise public media, and so much more.

Ireland announced legal action Wednesday (20 December) against the UK government in the European Court of Human Rights over a law granting immunity to combatants in the Northern Ireland conflict.

After months of negotiations, the finance ministers of EU countries on Wednesday (20 December) agreed on a new set of rules to govern member state finances.

In cooperation with the UK police, Belgrade police arrested six people suspected of forming a criminal group that invested in real estate with funds obtained through criminal activities that allegedly involved stealing from the UK’s Frank Lampard and Tamara Ecclestone, though state authorities are still unable to locate two suspects who have fled the country.

Bulgaria's parliament passed a sweeping constitutional reform on Wednesday that the ruling majority says is part of commitments to changes in the judiciary and aims for full Schengen membership, but has drawn criticism from pro-Russian President Rumen Radev and the pro-Russian opposition for stripping the president of much of his power to appoint caretaker governments.

The Czech government on Wednesday approved a proposal to change the definition of rape and introduce a "no means no" principle, although it still needs to be approved by parliament.

The public broadcaster in Poland was taken off air, and the heads of TVP state broadcaster and Polish Radio were replaced on Wednesday noon as the new government started the depoliticisation of public media, which the previous government still controlled.

A bill to prevent the nativity scene from being banned in schools, together with a disciplinary procedure to punish offenders, was presented by Fratelli d'Italia, who argue these initiatives display a ‘profound significance of humanity’ and are linked to ‘Italian national identity’.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will meet this Friday with Partido Popular leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo amid heightened tension between the two over the controversial amnesty law for those implicated in the 2017 secessionist attempt in Catalonia, Sánchez confirmed on Wednesday.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa expressed optimism on Wednesday about the political solution that will emerge from the legislative elections on 10 March and warned the new government not to waste time renegotiating the Recovery and Resilience Plan in Brussels after the last government’s negotiations resulted in a year-long standstill.

COP28 has come to an end, with its share of hope and disappointment. Yet, the European Union has a crucial role to play in global climate diplomacy in the coming year 2024, write Simone Tagliapietra, Giovanni Sgaravatti and Cecilia Trasi.

At the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC) in Spain, the MareNostrum5 supercomputer was inaugurated on Thursday (21 December), completing the first series of eight mid-range supercomputers.

French President Emmanuel Macron defended the spirit of France's controversial new immigration law in a French television interview the day after it received the National Assembly’s greenlight, asserting that it will help counter the far-right's rise and complement EU measures.

Two Romanian MEPs argue that with EU institutions adopting a political agreement, which for the first time lays down a harmonised approach to migration management for the bloc, Austria no longer has any valid grounds to oppose their country’s bid to join the Schengen area.

Prime Minister Robert Fico's push dissolve the body that now oversees high-profile corruption cases poses a risk to the EU's financial interests and would harm the work of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Juraj Novocký, Slovakia's representative to the EU body, told Euractiv Slovakia.